Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. Over the last few years, numerous business use cases have emerged, especially for generative AI like ChatGPT, and about 6.5% of all U.S. businesses are using the technology. One of the most exciting use cases is AI copywriting.
AI-generated copywriting is exactly what it sounds like. It involves using an artificial intelligence platform to create copy for your business, whether it be social media posts, email content, or blogs and service pages. Having your own intelligent robot to create content at will sounds great, but is it all it’s cracked up to be?
The answer isn’t so clear. Join us as we explore everything you need to know about AI copywriting.
What Is AI Copywriting?
What is AI copywriting? Broadly speaking, this refers to the use of AI algorithms like ChatGPT to create content. These tools analyze heaps of data, learn from existing content styles, and then generate new content that fits the bill.
ChatGPT isn’t the only game in town when it comes to AI-generated copywriting. Google Bard, Jasper Chat, and Perplexity AI are a few notable alternatives. With the AI market projected to reach a valuation of $407 billion by 2027, the list of competitors will continue to grow.
That said, the basic process of AI copywriting is quite similar across most platforms. You enter a prompt, and the algorithm spits out a response. For instance, let’s say you own a plumbing company and want to use AI copywriting tools to build out your blog. You might enter a prompt like “Create a 600-word blog outlining five signs that you need to call a plumber.”
The platform will generate a response, although it may not be to your liking. In that case, you’ll need to ask the platform to make adjustments. This process repeats until the content is close to what you are looking for, and you can fine-tune it from there.
Use Cases for AI-Generated Copywriting
There are lots of ways to use AI-generated copywriting to support your business. Here are a few possibilities:
Content Personalization
Creating personalized content is vital if you want to build strong customer relationships and nurture brand loyalty. However, building out all your content from scratch can be labor-intensive and expensive. Getting to the bottom of what each customer wants is even more difficult.
You can use AI tools to gather insights about your customers and analyze all the data you collect. Then, you can apply what you learn to create high-quality, bespoke content that resonates with your audience. The end result is a more engaging and enjoyable journey that keeps customers coming back for more.
Efficiency Gains
Business leaders are already using artificial intelligence to boost productivity and get more done. In fact, 64% of business leaders believe that increased productivity is one of the key perks of AI.
According to some estimates, it takes around four hours to create a blog and get it published-ready. Imagine how much more you could get done if AI copywriting cut that time in half.
Maintaining Brand Voice
Whether you outsource your copywriting to a third-party agency or have an in-house team, maintaining brand voice is a constant challenge. Even if every writer and editor is working from the same brand guide, each person has their own personality and process. This can lead to subtle differences in your brand voice and tone.
While small nuances in brand voice may not seem like a big deal, they can have a huge impact on the customer experience. AI-powered copywriting tools can consistently apply your brand voice and tone to every piece of content, regardless of its length or subject.
Expanding Your Content Strategy
Creating content takes time, which is why many small businesses are only active on a few channels. If you cut down on content creation time and tap into the power of AI copywriting tools, you’ll have the freedom to expand your content strategy.
Have you dreamed of launching your own blog? Do you want to create email drip campaigns to reconnect with lost customers? AI tools can help you meet these and many more goals.
Benefits of AI-Powered Copywriting
There is no question that AI copywriting has its perks. They include the following:
Speed
Is a gen AI tool going to create a publish-ready blog every time you submit a prompt? No. However, it can pump out a rough draft in seconds, which translates to hours in time savings. Once you’ve got the first draft of a blog complete, you can pass it on to your editors for polishing. That said, make sure they thoroughly fact-check it, as AI can make errors, too.
Cost Savings
Artificial intelligence is a force multiplier. While it can’t replace a great wordsmith or eagle-eyed editor, AI can help you do more with less. A small team can produce a lot of content. As such, you’ll enjoy long-term cost savings without having to scale back content volume.
However, not all tools are created equal. ChatGPT is a good option for creating rough drafts, especially if you pay for the premium version. There are also more in-depth and expensive platforms designed specifically for copywriting applications. If you are interested, take advantage of demo opportunities to see whether they are a good fit for your needs.
Scalability
With AI, you can ramp up your content production without hiring a team of writers. It’s like having an army of authors at your command without the overhead.
If you need to scale back your content production, you won’t have to fire employees or cut ties with a marketing agency. Just adjust your strategy and reallocate your existing team to other responsibilities.
Consistency
AI sticks to the rules. If you want a specific tone or style, AI will follow it to a T every time. You can even ask AI to mirror the style of actors, famous speakers, and other thought leaders.
The downside is that you’ll have to include tone and style instructions in almost every prompt. If you leave this information out of your request, AI might deviate from your usual style.
Potential Challenges of AI-Powered Copywriting
AI copywriting is far from perfect, which is why creating great content still requires a human touch. Think of AI-powered copywriting platforms as a tool for your team to use, not a mechanism for replacing them. If you rely too heavily on AI copywriting technology, you’ll run into problems like:
Lack of Style
AI can mimic whatever tone or style you ask for. However, it uses broad archetypes as opposed to a one-of-a-kind style. Think of it like asking someone to write like Hemingway. They might be able to mimic some of the famous author’s broader stylistic tendencies, but the content is probably going to lack the spirit that made Hemingway’s content timeless.
Thus, at face value, the content might align with what you are looking for. However, it can have a generic feel to it. This is especially problematic if you are fighting for attention in a crowded market.
Quality Concerns
Sometimes, AI can produce content that’s a bit, well, robotic. It might lack the nuances and creativity that a human writer would bring to the table.
Formulaic content may lose the interest of readers, especially if they are long-time followers who read most of the content you publish. After a while, everything can start sounding the same — and not in a good way.
Ethical Considerations
There’s a big debate about the ethics of AI in content creation. Is it fair to use AI for content? Does it take jobs away from human writers? These are tough questions without easy answers.
Factual Accuracy
One of the primary issues with AI copywriting is the propensity for errors. Not everything you see or read on the internet is true. Since AI algorithms are trained on data from the World Wide Web, they might inadvertently weave some false information into your content.
For instance, a New York lawyer was recently sanctioned for using ChatGPT to create a legal brief. Using an AI-generated brief wasn’t the issue. The problem is that the lawyer didn’t proofread or fact-check the content. Unfortunately, ChatGPT included fake case references in the brief, which got the lawyer in hot water with the judge.
Striking the Balance Between AI and Human-Generated Content
AI copywriting can do the heavy lifting and help you build out your content strategy. It can make you faster, more efficient, and data-driven. But it’s not the secret weapon to content creation that some have made it out to be.
The key is to blend the efficiency of AI copywriting with the creativity and style of human writers. When you do that, you’ll be able to create captivating copy at scale!
